Aston Martin, Toyota CEOs Swap Rides On The ‘Ring

If you ask us, a good CEO should have more than a passing knowledge of his company’s products, and should be able to demonstrate them competently. In the early 1990’s, a television series called “TV Nation” put this to the test, and challenged CEOs of major corporations to demonstrate their products on live TV. The only one who agreed was Ford’s CEO, Alex Trotman, who changed the oil in a Ford Explorer on camera. Read more

Video: Steve Nash On Competition At The Highest Level

I’ll preface this video by saying that it’s just wrong on so many different levels. In case you don’t know, Steve Nash is in the NBA, where he plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns. If Nash really does drive a Prius, I’d be willing to bet he’s the only one in the entire NBA. In fact, Nash may be the only pro athlete in the world who drive’s Toyota’s popular hybrid. The car in the video doesn’t even have alloy wheels! Read more

Toyota Wins, Ford Loses In Latest Initial Quality Study

Last year it was Toyota’s turn to get a beat-down in J.D. Power’s annual study of initial quality, thanks to ever-present headlines about unintended acceleration and a string of product recalls. This year it’s Ford’s turn, but their disappointing showing has little to do with product quality; instead, it’s more about Ford taking the lead in vehicle infotainment systems. Read more

Driveway Or Racetrack, You Decide

Rod Millen is a rally and hillclimb racing legend, best known in the United States for his long-standing Pike’s Peak hillclimb record time of 10:04.06, set in 1994 and unbeaten until 2007. Millen’s since turned his attention to building race cars, but that’s not to say he doesn’t still enjoy spirited driving. In fact, Millen’s built the ultimate driveway at his property in Hahei, New Zealand, and the ribbon of asphalt recreates some of the most challenging corners from Millen’s years of competitive racing. His driveway features straights, decreasing radius corners, elevation changes and even blind entry, decreasing radius corners with elevation changes. You’d better be on your “A” game to visit Millen, especially in bad weather. Read more

Toyota To Show Production FT-86 At Tokyo Motor Show?

If Japan’s Best Car magazine is correct, Toyota will show a production version of the FT-86 sports coupe as soon as this year’s Tokyo Motor Show. Held in December, the Tokyo Motor Show is usually considered one of the industry’s most significant, and it’s often used by Japanese manufacturers to highlight both concept and new production vehicles. Toyota showed a re-styled FT-86 II at this year’s Geneva Motor Show, and the concept met with mixed reviews. Some (like myself) felt that it was too busy and departed from the clean lines of the original prototype. Others (likely Toyota’s target demographic) liked the edgy styling of the FT-86 II. Read more

Toyota Launches Entune Infotainment System At CES 2011

It used to be so simple: cars had radios, and you tuned the dial to the station you wanted to listen to. Then came in car phonographs (really), followed by tape players, followed by CD players. By the time MP3 player integration became standard in all but the lowest end cars, the writing was on the wall: infotainment systems, like Ford’s SYNCH, would become the next evolution of in-car entertainment. Now Toyota is joining the party with the launch of Entune at this weeks Consumer Electronics Show, and the automaker is clearly determined to one-up Ford SYNCH.

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Toyota Gets Federal Grand Jury Subpoena For Steering Rod Documents

The hits keep coming for Toyota, but  this latest round was hardly unexpected.  Back on May 7, the NHTSA began an investigation into Toyota for covering up steering defects in 4Runner, compact pickup and T100 models built between 1989 and 1998.  The models, which were found to have a defective steering rod, were recalled in Japan in 2004.  Despite 41 documented complaints from U.S. customers, the same recall wasn’t initiated on these shores until the third quarter of 2005, nearly one full year later.  According to Autoblog, a federal grand jury in New York has subpoenaed Toyota for any and all documents relating to this steering rod recall.

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2012 Lexus LF-A Officially Priced at $375,000

Ever since the introduction of the Lexus LF-A there has been a buzz about how highly priced it would be and then other rumors started circulating on how it would be a lease-only vehicle. Well, the leasing rumor has been put to rest because if you are one of the lucky 500 potential owners, then you can have your very own Lexus LFA outright for just under $400,000.

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